A novel marker to determine arrhytmia risk in elite cyclists: T peak T end

Abstract

In athletes, left ventricular hypertrophy is a physiological response upon routine active sports. If the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is not diagnosed and treated, it can lead to sudden deaths in athletes. Not so much data is known whether or not it is favorable to use of Tp-e values in order to reflect the arrhythmia risks in asymptomatic elite cyclists. The aim of this study is to examine the risks of regular bike sport on potential arrhythmia in healthy active elite cyclists and veterans by using non-invasive cardiac tests. Study groups were: healthy volunteers (group 1, n=28, mean age 35.8±4.6), active cyclists (group 2, n=27, mean age 21±3.0), veteran cyclists (group 3, n=27, mean age 29.5±7.1 yr). All groups were underwent cardiological examinations, 12 derivation ECG records, transthoracic echocardiography investigations. Tp-e interval, Tp-e dispersion, corrected Tp-e interval, QT interval and Tp-e/QT ratio were calculated from ECG records. Tp-e intervals were measured with Tangent method, corrected Tp-e interval were measured with Bazett formula. Mean Tp-e interval results were as follows according to groups 1, 2, 3; 75.0±9.3, 88.1±7.0, 83.2±8.8 ms, respectively. The Tp-e interval, cTp-e interval, Tp- dispersion, QT interval, and SLI values were significantly higher in active cyclists than the veteran cyclists and the control group (p